by Kaleb Edwards

SANFORD- The International Baccalaureate programme has offered many benefits to the students who have joined. For both Charlie Jester and Ryan Gregory, it has gotten them into the prestigious schools Harvard and Duke.

“It was a complete shock. I didn’t expect to get in. It kind of changed my outlook on a lot of plans and what I thought I was going to be doing for the next four years,” said Jester.

“I was happy but also very nervous. I didn’t think I was going to get in so I didn’t really plan on it,” said Gregory.

The IB programme has helped prepare both Jester and Gregory for college and made them
contemplate their futures after high school.

“I would say I did it for the rigor. I was thinking about getting into college, acceptance rates,”
said Gregory.

IB offers more rigorous courses which help with college acceptance rates. IB also builds a better
school experience for the students in the programme.

“You build a really strong community that makes school and life a lot easier,” said Jester.

When students are in the IB program, they are in classes with the same students and teachers for two years, allowing them to build stronger bonds with their peers and teachers. Possibly the biggest benefit to joining the programme is the support.

“For me, it’s Mrs. Brown,” Jester said, talking about the IB coordinator Katie Brown.

Brown offers students of the IB programme support and guidance by offering assistance with the experience she has had with her previous IB students.

IB doesn’t just help students with school, but also their futures.

“In every class, there’s links to the greater society. Every problem is a real life scenario of how you would use statistics or whatever math in real life. It’s like that in every class,” said Jester.

IB also requires students to maintain time management and avoid procrastination. Gregory said “I would say to not procrastinate because it always bites you in the back and it’s always a
nightmare to deal with.”

Not maintaining time, students can risk falling behind in their courses and losing their IB
diploma which makes their work pointless. IB is a good choice for students who want to push themselves academically and those who want to put in the work.

IB is open to any student willing to try and the course could help their chances of getting into
college. Gregory said “Anyone should have the opportunity.” Students are allowed to pick either the full-diploma route or focus on specific classes in the course selection classes.